Opposition Leader Annastatcia Palaszczuk calls for PCMC hearings to be open to public

By Melinda HowellsUpdated
Fri 15 Nov 2013, 7:32 AM AEDT

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Calls for Qld's PCMC to stop meeting in secret

7pm TV News QLD

Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk says the public interest is too great to let hearings of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC) stay closed.

The bipartisan committee yesterday met for more than 12 hours in a private session to discuss the admission that the acting CMC chairman, Dr Ken Levy, had made incorrect statements to a previous hearing.

Dr Levy wrongly said he had had no contact from the State Government prior to writing an article supporting new anti-bikie laws, but insists he had forgotten about a phone call, and his opinion piece was not politically motivated.

Ms Palaszczuk says the issues need to be brought out into the open.

"Today I am writing to the chair of the CMC committee, Liz Cunningham, requesting the transcripts be presented publicly from yesterday's long hearing and also there be future hearings conducted in public," she said.

Premier Campbell Newman says hearings should be open but he does not know why yesterday's was closed.

"I don't know what happened there yesterday - I'm not privy to the deliberations of that committee," he said.

"I can tell you right now I've had no contact with any member of that committee since those hearings started at all.

"I haven't talked to them so I don't know what happened there myself and I don't know what their justification was for having a secret hearing."

PCMC member and independent MP Peter Wellington agrees hearings should be open to the public.

"As a member of that committee, while I can't speak on behalf of the committee, I think that'd be a great idea," he said.

"I'd urge the Premier to share his views with his Government members on that committee and with the chairman on that committee and maybe the resumption of the Levy committee will be held in public."

Secrecy option 'decided by whole committee'

PCMC chairwoman Liz Cunningham says it is not up to her to decide whether hearings are held in secret.

She says the committee will meet again tomorrow.

"There are considerations that the committee must make that by the very basis or the nature of the decisions and the considerations are best to be done in private," she said.

"That's a decision on these matters that the committee makes as a whole."